Reply by OnlyJustME

REO i bet those chisels/gouges for that big lathe must have been the size of slicks. probably a 4” roughing gouge. lol

I currently have 3 lathes. 2 vintage belt drive bench top lathe’s and a powermatic 90 that i have to get working and all the parts still. Cant wait to get the PM90 up and running so i can do some nice bowls and bigger things.

No most lathes aren’t powered by 110. there are also 220 and 3 phase. All depends on size and intended use. My old belt drive lathes only have 4 speeds via a 4 step pulley. the new electronic variable speed lathes have a lot more. I’d say you need at least 3 speeds.

You can turn green wood or dry wood. doesn’t matter too much as far as i know. If its green when you turn it the shape will change significantly as it dries. You would leave it bigger or oversized let it dry then turn it to final shape. risks with doing that are it may crack and be ruined while drying. Dry wood is harder on the tools to turn and can splinter apart while turning. I’ve been turning mostly firewood and sometimes it will start out seeming like it’s dry and when i get a few inches in it’s wet.I’m still learning about it so i may be corrected about this and has just been my short experience.

I’m looking into fabbing my own carbide cutter tools like the EWTs. Seems it would be easy enough to do and would be 1/4-1/3 the cost.

-- In the end, when your life flashes before your eyes, will you like what you see?